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2024/25 FA Cup
Third round
Liverpool v Accrington Stanley
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Saturday, 11 January 2025
Kick-off is at 14h15
Premier League leaders Arsenal will be heading into the unknown when they welcome lower-league Accrington Stanley to Anfield in the
FA Cup third round on Saturday, January 11.
The Reds have yet to face Stanley in any competition and their scouts would have been hard at work to gather as much information as possible on their opponents since the draw was made on December 2.
Arne Slot's side are flying high in the top flight and they've opened up a six-point gap to the chasing pack after winning 14 of their opening 19 matches, losing just once in the process.
The Merseyside giants have enjoyed much success in the world's oldest cup competition, lifting the coveted trophy eight times, most recently in 2022 after beating Chelsea on penalties in the final.
They fell at the penultimate hurdle last season after suffering an agonising 4-3 extra-time defeat to Manchester United in the semi-finals.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Accrington have never made it further than the fourth round of the FA Cup and they beat Rushall Olympic 2-0 and Swindon Town 4-1 on penalties this season to book a first-ever date with Liverpool.
John Doolan's side are finding the going tough in League Two, although back-to-back wins over Grimsby Town (3-2) and Colchester United (2-0) lifted them up to 19th place, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Slot saw his team battle back from a goal down to claim a 2-2 with the Red Devils in the league on January 5 and he spoke afterwards about maintaining the challenge for honours in the second half of the campaign.
"It's very difficult for me to compare last season with this season," the Dutchman said. "The only thing I do know is what gives me the most confidence to look forward to the upcoming weeks and months is until now we haven't stolen one point; all the points we've got were fully deserved.
"I think even in some moments we deserved more than we got when we dropped points. That is the best forecast you can have for the second half of the season.
"I don't know how that was last season, if all the results were as expected or fully deserved, or if there were a few lucky moments as well. I don't know. What I do know is this season all the points we've got and all the results we've got were deserved, in my opinion."
FA Cup third-round fixtures:
Thursday, January 9
21h00: Sheffield United v Cardiff City
21h45: Everton v Peterborough United
21h45: Fulham v Watford
Friday, January 10
21h45: Wycombe Wanderers v Portsmouth
22h00: Aston Villa v West Ham United
Saturday, January 11
14h00: Bristol City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
14h00: Birmingham City v Lincoln City
14h00: Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers
14h15: Liverpool v Accrington Stanley
16h00: Leicester City v Queens Park Rangers
17h00: Reading v Burnley
17h00: Norwich City v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h00: Preston North End v Charlton Athletic
17h00: Chelsea v Morecambe
17h00: Bournemouth v West Bromwich Albion
17h00: Sunderland v Stoke City
17h00: Exeter City v Oxford United
17h00: Brentford v Plymouth Argyle
17h00: Nottingham Forest v Luton Town
19h45: Manchester City v Salford City
19h45: Leeds United v Harrogate Town
20h00: Leyton Orient v Derby County
20h00: Mansfield Town v Wigan Athletic
20h00: Coventry City v Sheffield Wednesday
Sunday, January 12
14h00: Hull City v Doncaster Rovers
14h30: Tamworth v Tottenham Hotspur
17h00: Arsenal v Manchester United
17h00: Newcastle United v Bromley
17h00: Ipswich Town v Bristol Rovers
17h00: Crystal Palace v Stockport County
18h30: Southampton v Swansea City
Monday, January 13
21h30: Millwall v Dagenham & Redbridge
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